We've got free apps highlighted, some hints of what might be upcoming in Jony Ive's redesigns of all things iOS, and some struggles Cupertino (and developers) seem to be having with iCloud. All of that and more in this week's stories too hot to miss.

Friday marks the end of the March business month, which means Apple has yet to release any significant new products for the entire first calendar quarter of this year. We're pretty sure the folks in Cupertino aren't just taking naps at their desk, however, and we fully expect to see them unleash a lineup of new stuff soon enough. Until then, here's what you might have missed on Thursday...

It's taken them long enough, but e-tailer Amazon is finally launching an offensive against "read later" services such as Instapaper and Pocket, allowing readers to add articles to their Kindle with a click from most anywhere.

Although we don't see Apple releases falling on Tuesday as much now as we did back in the Steve Jobs era, the company managed to push out patches for both iOS 6 and Apple TV yesterday, the latter of which will be of particular interest to Hulu Plus subscribers. But there were plenty of other releases as well, so let's dive headfirst into the five you'll want to know about...

Attention, Thunderbolt users: The tyranny of high-priced cables may be finally coming to an end! Apple and now third-party accessory maker Kanex have recently dropped prices on the costly high-speed cables, which is certainly music to the ears of Mac owners who need to connect compatible peripherals, especially when almost no one includes the cables with their Thunderbolt-powered products. But wait -- there's more good news in today's recap, so read on...

So Google dropped two items, two pricey items, out into the public sphere recently. Only one of which is for sale for anyone, while the other is still in test mode. Meanwhile we've got some serious review love this week. So if you want our take on the email app du jour and more, you've come to the right place.

Although Apple continues to tout the number of iPad native apps available, there are always one or two that never seem to come. This week, you can scratch another of those off the list, because Audible is finally here for iPad.

It's Oscar season in Hollywood, and IMDb is celebrating with an update to its existing iOS app with a special section dedicated to the festivities, as well as an easier way for Amazon Prime members to enjoy their favorite films.

Which companies do you think have the best reputation with U.S. consumers? If you said Apple, you'd be right -- but they aren't ranked quite at the top of the latest Harris Poll study this time around.